American Immigration Council

Immigration justice campaignto address the lack of justice for immigrants in detention the Council launched the Immigration justice campaign (the campaign), a joint initiative with the American Immigration lawyers association, to increase access to legal counsel for thousands of men, women, and children held in detention centers. Since 2017, the campaign has built a nationwide volunteer network of attorneys, interpreters, social workers, and other supporters to serve thousands of detained individuals who would otherwise go unrepresented and to advocate for the end of Immigration detention.

Center for inclusion and belongingthe Council's center for inclusion and belonging is working to change hearts and minds towards those considered the "other and building bridges across differences. The Council will invest in the genuine attitude and behavior changes our country desperately needs to heal and move towards a more united future. The center will launch and build campaigns and interventions that provide all people in america with unifying experiences that reinforce their sense of connection, community, and shared destiny. The Council's four pillars of work include trainings, campaigns, research, and a community of practice. The Council launched the center for inclusion and belonging (cib) in 2019 as a new initiative to activate its mission of changing hearts and minds towards those considered the "other and building bridges across differences by investing in attitude and behavior changes to heal and move our country forward towards a more unified future. To this end, the Council is partnering with the ad Council to launch a national communications campaign around immigrant inclusion and has entered into a three-year agreement.

Litigation and legal educationthe Council is a national leader in Immigration litigation and is respected for its willingness and ability to bring cutting-edge lawsuits that hold the government accountable. Through litigation, the Council has stopped, slowed, or improved some of the most egregious, unlawful Immigration policies. The Council's legal department's robust docket addresses a range of critical issues, including abusive enforcement, the denial of due process, and the lack of transparency. In addition to affirmative litigation, the Council files amicus ("friend of the court") briefs and engages in extensive legal education and technical assistance for individual Immigration attorneys through practice advisories and webinars.the Council has also taken a leading role in shedding light on Immigration policies and information that are otherwise shielded from the public eye. The Council's transparency team uses the freedom of information act (foia) to secure data and documentation from government agencies and takes them to court when they fail to comply. Once the Council receives and analyzes government records and data, the Council publishes reports and shares the information publicly. The Council also leads efforts among litigators, researchers, and advocates to improve transparency within Immigration agencies and advance foia reform.

Policy and communicationsthe Council's policy department provides thought leadership and expert insight on a broad range of Immigration issues that are priorities for the Council. The team helps ensure that the Council's rigorous publications and analysis are communicated to the right decision makers and messengers at the right moment to improve Immigration policy. The team actively monitors the Immigration landscape to identify trends and works in close collaboration with other coalition partners to identify and implement effective advocacy strategies. Through administrative advocacy, the policy department shares its analysis of new proposals and developments, by participating in stakeholder engagements with government officials and filing complaints calling for investigations of agency wrongdoing. The team also educates members of congress by organizing and participating in briefings, submitting statements for the record, and offering lines of questioning for committee hearings.the Council's outreach efforts include several signature tools: a daily blog, fact sheets, and special reports. Through Immigration impact (www.immigrationimpact.com), the Council's widely read daily blog, the Council provides reliable analysis of the latest Immigration news. Blog posts digest the steady pace of Immigration developments and challenges throughout the year for a wide-ranging audience of journalists, policy makers, supporters, and the public. Through the Council's media outreach, staff extensively inform and shape the narrative around Immigration.

Cultural exchangethe Council's cultural exchange program promotes the understanding of temporary Immigration and participation in the global economy by sponsoring j-1 visas for international trainees and interns at u.s. Businesses of all sizes. Designated by the u.s. department of state to offer an exchange visitor program, the cultural exchange program facilitates emerging professionals to develop career enhancing skills at u.s. companies to use in their home countries. The participating businesses and institutions will, in turn, benefit from exposure to varying cultures in the countries into which they are operating or into which they are expanding. Short term outbound programs periodically offer americans who are interested in learning about international Immigration and human rights issues the opportunity to participate in overseas study tours to gain new perspectives on these vital issues.